At this rate you'll have me buying one Don
I notice some of them have the facility to only fire one side to create more modelling, plus modelling lights to check how it's going to look.

I was just trying to get to the bottom of the need for ring flash and maybe help a few people with LBA realise there are alternatives, but the more I learn about them the more I now want one! Dammit
well...I'm saving up for a decent long lens so it looks like I'm going to have to avoid shooting old women...

Thanks guys, I do like your image Don, I love the composition and shapes, but it seemed to confirm what I suspected. The second is a good example of how it doesn't have to flatten the image, but surely the same effect could have been achieved with a piece of white paper?

I am probably wrong, but it strikes me that the advice for newbies wondering what kit they must have, is: unless you are documenting something, ring flash should be used sparingly and definately not as the main light. I'm talking about striking and memorable images don't forget.
It may be a really convenient piece of kit, but in 20 years of illustration and 3D modelling, I have never put the light in the same place as the 'camera'.

I don't understand ringflash, as an illustrator, the last thing I would would try and acieve is a flat, even light, right in the centre, with no modeling or texture. Don your image kinda bares this out. sorry.
If I was on a budget...oh, I am! then I would use the sun, or one flash and a reflector on a coat hanger.
Are you guys doing photography for biology books or something? I'm not being provocative, I would lke to know what all the fuss is about.

so far so good, a word of warning - don't import your old inboxes etc. unless you really need to. It took about half an hour on mine and I couldn't cancel when I remembered I could just open Outlook if I needed to refer to old emails.
Just import your settings and contacts and have a fast email client again!
Don't forget to go through the options, it sets itself up quite differently by default.

I have been toying with installing this for ages. but that does it, I'm going in!

Thanks Chris, I must admit I woke up on Monday thinking, 'oh sh*t I bet I've gone and upset someone...', looks like I got away with it
I console myself with the thought that I am my own worse critic. I suspect a lot of us are.

It's a beautiful image Ken. Looks really nice cropped down to a letterbox too.

Beautiful pictures Joshua, I should show my partner to stop her telling me how good I am... but I won't

I haven't worked out how to convert her enthusiasm into new lenses

Sorry, back to the thread - Gorgeous images, I will now work harder.

Nice... I would have to remove the dust on his eye though
I suspect we see eye to eye on several things... here's my effort at bucking the trend, you may have seen this before. (I don't actually have a macro lens). high-key glamour shot (sorry about the watermark)

You love your fish eye Galoot, as I do mine. you did well to control the exposure of the sky. In the absense of your explanation, my first thought was, 'I wonder if that would be better right in the centre?'
But it's a great shot, and really nice colours.